Tiger's return as dreary as weather / Oberholser 6-under when play is halted

Brian Murphy, Chronicle Staff Writer

Published 4:00 am, Friday, February 14, 2003

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Tiger Woods warms up for his first round in two months, before hitting his opening tee shot at the Buick Invitational into the trees. Associated Press photo by Denis Poroy

Tiger Woods warms up for his first round in two months, before hitting his opening tee shot at the Buick Invitational into the trees. Associated Press photo by Denis Poroy

Tiger's return as dreary as weather / Oberholser 6-under when play is halted

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2003-02-14 04:00:00 PDT La Jolla, San Diego County -- Tiger Woods was in trouble. His tee ball missed another fairway, and a marshal herded a gallery backward on the 7th hole at Torrey Pines North on Thursday.

"Back, back," the marshal said to the gallery. "Back some more."

Woods, trying to take his stance, looked up and smiled.

"Come on," said the world's No. 1-ranked player, in his first round of the PGA Tour season. "I'm not swinging that bad, am I?"

Ah, gallows humor.

Tiger's celebrated return to the Tour at the Buick Invitational was more scuffling than scintillating, with a game more rusty than rested. He was wild off the tee, hitting just two of eight fairways. He was only marginally better coming in, hitting five of nine greens. The herky-jerky rhythm of his game and its sloppiness, in short, matched the skies on a rainy, messy, foggy day.

Play was halted after two weather delays totaling more than four hours, and no player finished 18 holes in weather more Scotland than San Diego.

So, was Tiger happy to be back after nearly two months off following arthroscopic knee surgery?

"On a nice sunny day, like today?" he said, walking off the 10th fairway after play was halted in the late afternoon. "Yeah, it's great."

Ah, more gallows humor.

Besides, if you're looking for the story of glory from a Bay Area college golf prodigy, it's not Stanford product Woods. Instead, his college rival from San Jose State, San Mateo-raised Arron Oberholser, was the one doing the real playing. In only his fourth Tour tournament since earning his playing privileges last year after a second-place money finish in the Nationwide (formerly Buy.com) Tour, Oberholser led the field at 6-under par through 16 holes.

This is no fluke. Oberholser can play, and he informed those who did not even know how to pronounce his name that he and Tiger used to joust for the nation's top individual ranking in college golf back in 1996.

In a celebrated showdown at the U.S. Collegiate Championship at Santa Cruz's Pasatiempo, Oberholser shot a final-round 64 to Woods' 71, and clipped him by six shots. Back then, Oberholser was quoted as saying that if Tiger was the best around, he was a "close second."

On Thursday, Oberholser still sounded confident after making six birdies and no bogeys on the North Course, taking advantage of soft, receptive greens. Rain and fog? No problem.

"I'm a mudder," Oberholser said, though he has moved to Arizona. "You grow up in Northern California, if you want to play in the winter, you play in the rain."

Woods has been known to survive in all conditions, but Thursday he appeared just a bit off. On his first swing of the season, on the par-5 1st hole, he pulled a driver from the bag and blocked it right, missing the fairway. His face soured. Already, he was mad at himself.

Moreover, he couldn't get comfortable. He started the round in a black sweater and slacks, switched to rain gear by the 2nd hole, went down to a blue polo shirt by the 5th hole, and went back to the sweater by the 6th hole. By the time he played No. 9, the rain gear was back on. It had the look of nervous fidgeting.

"Problem was, I didn't dress properly," Woods said. "I was either too hot or cold. A sweater vest would have been perfect."

On No. 2, a par-4, he missed the fairway left and made par. On the par-3 3rd, he missed the green but got up-and-down for par. On No. 4, a par-4, he missed the fairway right with his driver, missed the green with a wedge, then chunked a chip, barely advancing it. The gallery was silent and subdued, until one impatient fan said: "Come on, Tiger." Woods made bogey and stewed.

Finally, on the par-4 5th, he smoked a driver to the middle of the fairway and held his follow-through. He gave a little kick with his right leg in the follow-through, the sure sign he liked the shot. From the fairway, he punched an iron to 15 feet, and rolled home his first birdie of the year. His glory was short-lived: On the downhill par-3 6th, with gray clouds and drizzle forming a backdrop on the Pacific Ocean, he punched another iron, held it again, then watched it airmail the green. He misjudged with his club and distance, and was disgusted.

made another birdie on 8 when he found the fairway -- his only two birdies came after his only two fairways -- then saved par again on 9 when he missed the green long and left. Out in 35, Woods started his back nine with a drive that missed another fairway -- only to hear the weather horn blow, forlorn and final, over the misty golf course.

He was done for the day. Asked if he was happy that he scrambled to save three pars, Woods only smiled.